Fairbanks February 2012

InFairbanks the average temperature was +5.9°F, a substantial 7.2°F above the long term mean for February. It was the warmest February in ten years. It is remarkable that the February temperature was more than 30°F warmer than in January, further demonstrating that January was an unusually cold month. The high temperature for the month was 31°F on the 5thof February, while the lowest temperature was ‑35°F observed on the 1stof the month. For most of the month, the temperatures were above normal with the exception of the first four days and the last day of the month. No new daily records were set.
Precipitation in February matched the normal at 0.42" water-equivalent. Snowfall (7.5") was also close to the normal of 8.1", and on twelve days of the month at least some snowfall was observed. No new precipitation records were observed. Wind speed averaged a low 2.5 mph, typical for Interior Alaska, where the surface temperature inversion hinders the wind aloft to reach the surface. The highest gust of 23 mph was observed on the 2nd, blowing from a southerly direction.